Banbury animal rescue charity launches old gadget and stamp recycling campaign

Ann Collins, the chair of Banbury Animal Rescue and Kindness Service (BARKS), and one of her BARKS rescue cats Daisy

A Banbury animal rescue charity has launched a new appeal in the countdown to Christmas with a call for donations of old mobile phones, small gadgets, coins and postage stamps to raise vital funds for animal care and re-homing.

The new campaign is called GAS – which stands for Gadgets And Stamps – and is the latest fundraiser for Banbury Animal Rescue and Kindness Service (BARKS). It has been timed to coincide with local households getting rid of old or obsolete items at Christmas.

BARKS chair, Ann Collins, said: “This is the ideal way to feel good about recycling and help needy animals at the same time.

A cat and a mobile phone (photo from BARKS charity)

"You can save up your Christmas stamps and your old or broken small gadgets, like phones, cameras and gaming devices – and not just chuck them out but use them to help give new lives to innocent animals.

“Nearly every household has some of these items to get rid of, from old mobile phones to cast-off costume jewellery and defunct currency. We've even got a whole village and entire streets running collection schemes, so we're hoping to raise some really meaningful funds towards feeding, caring for and re-homing hundreds of creatures.

“We've deliberately launched GAS before Christmas and, if it's a success, we'll keep it going right through 2021. It's one of the many ways we've found to keep vital income going, despite all the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.”

The charity is accepting the following items for donation as part of their fundraising project, which include mobile phones, cameras, video cameras, electronic gaming devices (consoles, accessories and games), iPods/MP3 players, Sat Navs and tablet computers.

They will not accept the following items: home telephones, home computers and accessories, fax machines, DVD Players, printers, kitchen appliances and personal grooming items.

Stamps from envelopes (with a small margin of paper torn around them) can be put in small bags and mixed with jewellery, coins, unwanted currency and gadgets.

Recyclable items can be dropped off to BARKS at 47 Park End, Bodicote.

People can also email [email protected] if they would like to start a street or village collection scheme. For more information, see the BARKS website at www.barks.org.uk or Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/BarksBanbury